The Gift Of A Life Time
by ammie-may
Summary: When Rika's parents are murderd her and Mitsuru are left on the streers to die. In an act of desperation, Mitsuru tells his little sister he doesn't want her anymore. SasorixOC, GaaraxOC sorry if there's any OOC moments. Not good @ Summary! Will finish!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes, for a seven-year-old Rika's very mature and has a bit of a mouth on her... I'm sorry if my writing isn't all that good, and I'll try and put up new chapters soon!!!! **

_~Done in Rika's P.O.V.~_

Her fingers danced in tune with the melody she played on the piano. "Mama," asked her as I rested my head on her lap. She stopped playing and smiled over at me. The sunlight that beamed into our music room made her light brown hair and pale skin shine. She reminded me of an angel.

"Yes love, what is it," she questioned with a loving smile. I looked away from her and at the keys.

"Mama, can you teach me how to play?" I tilted my head to the side so I could look up into her purple eyes. Her smile grew as she nodded. "Really?!" She nodded again, this time with a small giggle, and helped me onto the pianist bench so I could sit next to her.

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After a while, I felt the presence of someone else. My fingers stopped trailing after my mothers and I turned around on the bench to see who was in the music room with us.

"Onii-chan" I cried. My big brother, Mitsuru, stood in the doorway.

"Hey Ri," he smiled. As he walked towards us the morning sun embraced him too, making his long black hair shine a dark blue.

"Mitsu," my mother's soft angelic voice rang out, "aren't you supposed to be on your way to class?" His hazel eyes sparkled underneath his bangs.

"Yeah, but mom, I was hoping that Ri could walk me to the grounds." Mother looked at me and I gave her a big smile.

"Oh mama, can I please," I begged. Before she could answer, a sudden shock was sent down my spine, making my whole body shudder from the negative energy. My head snapped towards the doorway, only to find my father towering behind my brother in the shadows. His bangs covered his eyes and he had his head tilted down. Mitsuru's relaxed smile was now an uneasy frown. Mother gently wrapped her arms around me, hugged me close to her and whispered in my ear,

"Go with your brother Rika." I nodded and hugged her back. Once she let go of me I hopped off the bench. As soon as my bare feet hit the soft white carpet, I knew something was wrong. I paused for just a moment to take in the new feeling the music room now held. It was normally a happy and relaxed place. If it were a color, it would be white. However, now that father was here, the room felt black; full of negative emotions. .....I didn't like it. Father never used to bring such a dark aura into the house.

"C'mon Ri," Mitsuru said in an unsteady voice. I nodded and ran over to him. I tried to look up at fathers face as I passed, but when I did, I saw that his coal-colored eyes were full of an emotion I had never seen before. I quickly gripped my brother's hand and looked down at the carpet.

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"Onii-chan," I asked. We had been walking for a while in silence, and I felt the need to make conversation. He didn't bother to look over at me to answer, but he did let out a quiet 'huh' in response. "Why is it that mama never sings anymore?" There was a slight hesitation in his next step. When I didn't get an immediate response I started to wonder if I had said something wrong.

"It's because father's....." his voice trailed off. I looked up at him with curious eyes hoping he would finish, but he didn't. He was hiding something from me, and I could tell he wasn't going to give his secret up easily.

"Rika," he said and stopped walking. I stopped too and turned to face him. "How old are you?"

"Don't you know?" He was starting to worry me...

"Just answer," he said with a glare.

"Seven," I sighed. He crouched down so he was eye level to me.

"Then worry about seven-year-old stuff, 'kay?" I nodded, and he smiled. "Good girl!" He placed his hand on my head and messed up my hair.

"Hey!!" My hands raced up to fend his away. He quickly let go of my head and my hands replaced his; trying to shield my hair in case of another attack.

"Now," he stood up and looked in the direction of the school, "I'm gonna' go. I'll be home later, 'kay?" I glared at him and didn't say anything. He turned to look at me then smirked. "Take your time getting back home..." his smirk faded and he turned his head away from me again. "No need to rush." I was about to ask him what he meant but he started to walk away from me and towards the school.

I stood there for a moment or two trying to guess what he was hiding, while trying to fix my hair. When I couldn't think of anything I started to walk around the school grounds. Out of boredom, I began to sing quietly to myself and wandered over towards what looked like a kick-ball field.

"Get away from us" Someone yelled. My attention was quickly drawn to a group of kids that looked around Mitsuru's age. They were standing about a yard or two away from some ginger kid that was probably my age. Curiosity taking over me, I walked over towards them to see what was going on.

"Go away you _**monster**_," a girl with long brown hair screamed. Rage suddenly began to build up inside of me. Why would anyone be so mean to a cute little ginger kid?! He looked harmless! In fact, he looked like he was about to cry!! I would not stand for this.

"Hey" I yelled. Everyone's heads snapped in my direction. "What did he ever do to you?!" A black haired boy took a step towards me and glared down at me.

"Do you have any idea who he is," he growled. I didn't let his little show intimidate me.

"Do you have any idea how rude you're being? Did your parents ever teach you right from wrong? Last time I checked bullying was greatly frowned upon," I shot back at him (good thing Mitsuru and I always got into fights; otherwise I wouldn't have _**any **_snappy comebacks). No way was I going to stand for this, ever. The redhead gave me a confused look; it was like he didn't understand what was going on... The black-haired jerk on the other hand gave me a cold glare.

"You're not from around here, are you?!" I shook my head and said,

"No, I moved here from Konaha about a month or two ago."

"Tsk, figures," The girl with brown hair mumbled and took a step closer to me. She pointed to the ginger kid and growled, "He's a monster. He'll kill you the first chance he gets!"

"What is your name," the boy asked me, totally ignoring the girl. I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"Rika Tetnomi." The other boys grew a little tense and the girls started to act odd (it looked like they were swooning, but I couldn't be sure).

"T-Tetnomi?!" Why was everyone acting so strange?

"Yeah," I growled. I knew I had to sound tough or else they'd try and hurt me... Onii-chan said that in times like this all I had to do was mention Tetnomi and act 'big', otherwise, I would be beaten up.

"Mitsuru-kun... are you his little sister," the brown-haired girl asked me. The look in her eyes had changed completely. Just a few seconds ago she looked like she was about to chop my head off or something like that. Now, her eyes held compassion and kindness. I nodded and took this moment to catch a glimpse of the redhead. He was shaking a little bit – probably because he was still getting death glares of doom from random kids – and I noticed that he was holding a teddy bear in his arms.

"You're related to that hot-shot Mitsuru," a blue-haired boy yelled. I wasn't sure if that was a supposed to be a question or a statement. When I turned to face him, I caught a glimpse of something shiny in his left hand.

"Dude, he'll kill you if you mess with his little sis," another kid said to him and placed his hand on the blue-haired-jerk. He shrugged the kid away and glared daggers at me.

"Let's see how much of a hot-shot he is when his sister is no longer alive" he cried and flicked his wrist just right so that the shiny thing (just my luck, it was a kunai knife) shot out straight at my heart. I slammed my eyes shut and threw my hands up to try and block it, even though I knew that wouldn't do a thing to help me.

When a few seconds passed and I didn't feel any pain, I allowed myself to take a peek; what I saw shocked me. There was a thick wall of sand that stood between me and the group of kids that blocked the kunai. A few minutes of dead silence passed and I tried to figure out where this wall had come from.

"R-run," someone screamed, and they all took off. I, on the other hand, stood there frozen with shock. The sand began to slowly crumble and the wall fell down, leaving the kunai and that redhead, before me.

"T-thank you," the boy whispered, and tilted his head down so I couldn't see his eyes. I slowly lowered my arms and turned my head so I could look at him.

"W-wha...," I started to say but quickly stopped. I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out then tried again. "So, you're the one who... saved me?" My voice was a little uneasy and I was scared that he might thing that I was going to go off on him like the other kids did. For some odd reason I didn't feel scared at all. In fact, I felt completely safe. He held onto his bear even tighter and gave me a single nod as his answer. I smiled at him and took a step or two towards him. "What's your name?" He lifted his head up and had that shocked look in his eyes.

"You're not... going to run away from me?" I took another step closer to him.

"Why would I run away?" He looked over at the kunai that laid in the mass of sand. I let out a quiet sigh.

"I've seen worse." Why didn't this feel strange to me? He looked back at me and didn't say anything. "You didn't answer me though..." my smile faded and I clasped my hands behind my back."What's your name?"

"G-Gaara." I smiled again and giggled a little.

"That's a pretty name! Mine's Rika!"

"Yeah, I know. Your brother is Mitsuru... My brother and sister talk about him a lot." My eyes lit up and my smile grew even bigger. I was making progress. Maybe I could make him my friend.

"Really?! You have siblings too?"

"Yeah," he winced.

"That's so cool! I've always wanted a sister!!" He looked back at the ground and squeezed his bear.

"But... they don't like me that much... no one does." I felt obligated to make him feel better. After all, nobody should ever have to feel alone.

"Well," I started and walked over to him so that I was only a few inches away, "I don't see why not." His eyes widened and a slight blush crossed his cheeks. I smiled and giggled again. "I think you're cute!" He looked up at me and smiled. Yes!! Now all I have to do is continue to make him feel happy!

"Thanks." I brushed a lock of my short blood-reddish-brown hair behind my ears. I really hope I can make him my friend; I didn't have any here in Suna. ...That reminded me,

"By the way, why where all those kids scared of you?" His smile faded and he looked back at the ground again. "Uh!! N-no! I-I-I didn't mean to- - I-I'm sorry I...ugh!!" I clutched my hands close to my heart, closed my eyes and tilted my head down too. The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt his feelings. A few seconds of awkward silence passed and I began to feel like a horrible person for asking such a personal question.

"It's okay," I heard him say with a slight giggle in his voice. I opened my eyes and looked up into his. The aqua color shined in the sun and I saw the bags that hung under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping very well... "It's because I- -" He cut himself off last minute and blushed a little again.

"It's okay!" I smiled at him, trying to make him feel more comfortable around me. "Whatever it is I promise I won't end up like the others." He winced again. Stupid curiosity of mine, I should just drop the subject.

"I-I-I have this..... Thing..... inside of me....." He clutched his bear and closed his eyes. Thing? What did he mean by 'thing'? "I-I can't sleep... the sand... I can't get hurt... I-I killed my mom..... when I was born.....I-I-I didn't mean to though....." He looked like he was about to cry. Dang it! How could I let myself ask such a thing to someone I hardly knew?! My mind began to spin and I swear I could feel his sadness start to seep into me. Hesitantly, I gently wrapped my arms around him and rested my chin on his shoulder.

"It's okay," I whispered in his ear. I could tell that he didn't know what to do, and to be honest I wasn't really thinking about my actions. The only thing that my mind was thinking was 'we have to fix this. We made him feel bad'. At first, we just stood there, not saying anything. Then, he slowly moved his arms (being careful to still hang on to his bear) and hugged me back; burying his face into my shoulder. "Please Gaara, don't cry." I whispered again, and held him tighter; I could tell that he really needed a hug.

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"Really?! Your dad is the Kazekage?!" Gaara smiled and nodded. We ended up walking over to the swing-set and started talking to each other about random stuff. I was happy to just sit here with him. I haven't been able to make any friends yet and I was glad that I could make him happy. I thought that he needed it... being sad and alone all the time can't be good.

"Yeah, and he said that in a few years I can start at the ninja school with my brother and sister!" Gaara's eyes had really lightened up scene we started talking.

"My brother said that- -" I quickly stopped myself and let out a small gasp. Mama wanted me to help her clean the house today!!!

"What is it, Rika," Gaara asked, sounding a little worried.

"I-It's just that, I promised my mama that I'd help her around the house today, and it's getting pretty late." I smiled at him and jumped off the swing I was sitting on. I didn't want to leave him, but I knew that I had to. "I'm really sorry Gaara, but I gotta' go!" I waved to him and was about to start running when some sand wrapped around my right ankle.

"W-wait!!" He cried. His voice felt like a dagger to my heart. I knew he didn't have any friends, and I felt guilty for having to leave him alone again.

"It's okay," I said and turned my head back to look at him. "I'll be back tomorrow, promise!!" I smiled at him, giving him the peace sign, and he gave me a small nod. "I'm sorry that I can't stay any longer." He smiled and the sand let go of me. I waved again and took off running as fast as I could; hoping that father wasn't upset with me... I hated it when he got angry.

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I was crouched down just a few yards away from home - trying to catch my breath - when all of the sudden I got a feeling of dread in my chest that was so strong, it made it hard to breath. I quickly surveyed the property my fathers' clan owned. All the lights were off and I couldn't hear anyone talking; not even mama playing on the piano. The setting sun made everything look creepy, which didn't help my growing fear. I took a few more deep breaths before dashing towards the door and cracking it open a little to poke my head inside.

"Mama," I called out, hoping that someone would answer me. My voice echoed throughout my home and I waited a second or two before I quietly walked in, not bothering to take my shoes off. The first place I went was the music room mama and I had been in earlier. As soon as I was there, my eyes were drawn to a lump in the middle of the floor. I tried to make it out, but the trees that hid the dissipating sun's light made everything seem dark and colorless.

Without really thinking, I walked over to the lump, only to realize that it was my mother lying on her tummy. Fear began to overwhelm me, but I quickly pushed it aside and sat down next to her.

"Mama," I cooed to her. When she didn't respond, I rolled her over and looked into her face, only to find her eyelids still closed. _She's just sleeping… she'll wake up soon, _I told myself as I lay my head down on her stomach - trying to ignore the warm liquid I could feel seeping out from her chest and side.

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"Rika..." Someone called out. It sounded like Mitsuru, but... wasn't he at school? My eyes fluttered open and I looked around me. It was fairly dark out and some stray beams of moonlight shown into the music room, making everything have an eerie glow to it. "Come on Rika..... We have to go....." It _was _Mitsuru. I lifted my head and rubbed away something that seemed to have dried onto my cheek. When I did, everything came rushing back to me. I looked up at my big brother and almost started crying.

"Some kids tried to hurt me." He looked at me with an odd expression. It was not the same look father had earlier this morning, but it looked just as strange to me. He slowly lifted his hand up towards my face and rubbed my cheek with his sleeve, not saying a word to me. Even though it was dark, I could see the red tint my cheek left behind on his white shirt. It was then that it hit me. Her tummy didn't move up and down as I was laying on her, her body had no warmth to it, the liquid that was seeping from her… was blood, and Mitsuru looked -and sounded- like he was trying not to cry. I lowered my head and tried not to burst into tears. "Mama's not sleeping..... is she?" My voice was so frail and broken that it did not even sound like I had said anything at all… His silence was all I needed as an answer. I looked back at my mother's life-less body and gently stroked her face. Who would do something like this to her? She had such a good heart.

"Rika..." Mitsuru whispered. "We can't stay here, we have to go."

"B-but... mama..." We couldn't just leave her here. Why did he want to leave?

"I know. But we can't stay here."

"Why?!" I could feel my tears coming down my face. "She's our mother!! We have to find father and- -"

"Father's dead too," Mitsuru cut me off, raising his voice to match mine. I just looked at him. Father was gone too. But... why?! Who would do this to them? To us?! I started heaving and my tears no longer stayed inside of me. Why would anyone take them away from us?

"Father..." he stopped in mid sentence again. I held my breath and looked him in the eyes, only to see that same expression he had before. He lowered his head and started shaking. "I-I saw him... before he died...he's..." I whipped away my tears but they quickly came right back. "He killed her..... And himself." For a few short second I swear my heart stopped. I didn't know how to react to this. My body got cold and all my muscles grew tense. It felt as though chains were pulling at my heart and I forgot how to breathe.

"Wh..... what? Are you..... Are you sure?" My voice was so quiet I could hardly hear myself. Mitsuru looked up at me and I could see his eyes beginning to tear up. Mitsuru never cried, not even when he broke his arm in training. Seeing him like this made me realize that he was feeling the same as me… if not worse. My maturity took over and my body became numb.

"We'll be okay," I told the both of us as I gently clingged onto my brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Mitsuru's POV

Hours turned into days, and the days turned into weeks. Amongst all the melancholy, I had lost track of time. Before long, everyone knew about the death of our parents… though… none of them knew what had happened. Not the truth anyways… not even my little sister. If she knew what really happened, why our worthless, heartless, twisted father had done such a cruel thing to our mother, and what I had done to him, she would never be the same.

The Kazekage hadn't done a thing to help us. When we tried to see if there was anything he could do, all he said was, _"So he finally snapped, eh? Too bad."_ Then he left us to fend for ourselves. I had tried to go to Konaha – we still had a summer home there after all – but Rika insisted that I finish my time at the academy in Suna. She said it 'was what mother would have wanted', for me to become a ninja and all. I honestly didn't care if I became a ninja or not, all that mattered to me was protecting my little sister… the only thing I had left…..

"Onii-chan, are you okay," a soft voiced cooed me out of my reflections. Rika gently took hold of my hand as we walked through the core of Suna. "Do you still wanna go through with this? I mean, it's not like have to do it now, we can wait." I gave her a weak smile. There was no way we could put this off any longer. We both needed food, and we needed it now. Our 'home' had run out of food a few days ago, and the only way we could get anything to eat was if we stole it.

"Look," I sighed, "I don't like it any more than you do, but we have to eat. Now, do you remember the jutsu I showed you a few days ago?" She rolled her eyes and tried looking through the people surrounding us.

"Of course I remember." I smirked and looked ahead as well. With it being noon, the streets were very busy, and almost all the stands were open. I could feel Rika tightening her grip on my hand to make sure the massive crowd didn't suck her in. "Hey is that…" she trailed off and stopped walking, causing some people behind us to say a few choice words; directed at us no doubt.

"What is it?" I looked down at her, but her gaze stayed straightforward. Following her eyes, I saw a boy about her age with red hair, aqua blue eyes, and a tattoo on his forehead that I couldn't quite make out from this point. "Hey, Ri, who is that kid?" She didn't respond to me though, she just slowly released my hand and ran up to the kid. Automatically the thought of some stranger scooping her up flashed in my mind, so I quickly ran after her.

"Gaara! Oh Gaara, I missed you," she cried. She moved her arms as if she was going to hug him, but then stopped herself; he just stopped walking and stared at me, not her, _me_. I looked down at 'Gaara' and studied him. His head was hanging a little low, a good sign of anger, depression, or even danger. He had this far away look in his eyes that I didn't like one bit. Moreover, the aura he had made my skin crawl.

"C-come on Rika, we need to—"

"Gaara," she cut me off, "I'm really sorry for not finding you sooner… it's just that… well… my mom and dad… they…" Gaara gave her a slight glance then started walking again. The look of rejection on my sisters' face made me want to beat this ginger kid brat to a bloody pulp.

"Hey, didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to walk away from someone when they're talking to you?!" I tried to sound threatening, but this… _kid_ didn't seem fazed… he must not have known who I was.

"Didn't anyone tell you not to talk to strangers," he challenged. I clenched my fists and glared down at him. Time seemed to have stopped at that moment. Even though people still walked past us as if we didn't exist, it felt as though the only thing happening was this 'conversation'. It was like there was a tiny space that only the three of us inhabited.

"Don't dish it out if you can't take it _brat_." Rika quickly grabbed my fist and tried to calm me down. _Gaara, _on the other hand just looked up at me with… an almost confused look in his eyes.

"You two aren't like the others…" he mumbled; his voice was so quiet I almost couldn't hear him over the crowd; I don't even think Rika caught what he said.

"M…Mitsuru, its fine. I… must have got him confused with someone else," my sister said. It was obvious that she was lying, but the look of fear in her eyes forced me to comply.

"You should listen to her," Gaara mumbled once more, and continued to walk off; his departure making time start up again and the tiny space dissolve. The only feeling left over was my hate toward him, and the lingering sense of the bubble of timeless space.

"C-come on onii-chan," Rika cooed to me, once again pulling me out of my own world. "We should get something to eat." For once, I agreed with her.

_**~LINELINELIENLIENLINE~**_

"S-so, Mitsu-kun," a girl from my class stuttered out. I lazily looked over at her and gave her a gentle smile, even though I hated her for pulling me out of my thoughts… wow that happens a lot.

"Yes Kimiko, what is it," I asked in a calming voice. Her eyes glazed over in that funny way all girls' seemed to do when I talked to them like this.

"Y-you remembered… my name." She sounded shocked, and I only smiled more.

"Of course silly, why wouldn't I remember _your_ name?" Yes, why would I forget _you_? Rika had told me about the little 'attack' that happened to her a while ago. In addition, she told me everything she could remember about the people that caused her the most trouble… particularly the brown haired girl, and a blue haired boy. The brunette was this girl, Kimiko. As for the blue guy, he was Shinji – a showoff that thinks of me as some sick, twisted man who likes to play with others emotions and take advantage of them. Well… he was right about one thing.

"O-oh, w-w-well," Kimiko was blushing like crazy, and her eyes shown with delight. After all, I hardly ever talk to anyone in the academy, let alone one of the girls. However, I made sure that when I did they would feel as though they were on cloud nine. "It's just that… I-I heard about what happened… with your parents," _Tsk, who hasn't?_ "and I know that you have to take care of your little sister and all," _And you didn't know I had a sister until a few weeks ago… or has it been longer than that? _"so, I….I…." she began to blush even more… if that were possible, and began to avoid eye contact. I smirked, outstretched my arm, and cupped her face with my hand; gently forcing her to look at me.

"You know, you're so _cute_ when you blush," I cooed to her. Heh, mother always did say I had a way with woman. Her eyes grew wide with shock and she quickly shoved something into my arms.

"T-TISHISFORYOUANDYOURSISTER,BYE!!" she shouted and ran off. I smiled in amusement and looked at the item that was 'for Rika and I'. I was rather… stunned… to find two bento.

_**~LINELINELINELINELINE~**_

"Okay, Mitsuru Tetnomi," My sensei called out, "it's your turn!" I sighed and walked towards the front of the class; everyone's eyes gazing at me, waiting for me to perform the jutsu we were supposed to be learning. Before I had even stopped walking and turned around to face them, I closed my eyes and focused my chakra. I imagined myself splitting in two… and as the warm tingle was sent throughout my body, I turned and faced my class.

They didn't say a word, and some of them even had their mouths open. I smirked and looked to the left of me. Standing there was a perfect replica of myself; he even smirked as he scanned the class.

"W-well, Mitsu-san," my sensei said after a few moments, "very well done, as always!" I smiled brightly at him and my clone evaporated back into my body.

"Thank you sensei," I kept my voice sweet as a round of applause echoed throughout the room. I bowed and walked back to my desk; earning deaths glare by Shinji. I sighed and returned to my seat.

They were all so… _weak._ I've been training for as long as I can remember, and most of these… fools… were only beginning to learn the basics of chakra control. I let out another heavy sigh and leaned back in my chair. If only they knew what I was capable of doing… then maybe things wouldn't be so hard for Rika. Maybe then, things like what happened to her and that random ginger kid wouldn't hav--… wait a tick. When she told me about that night, she said that she had saved some redhead with bright aqua colored iris's and dark rings under his eyes.

'_"What is it?" I looked down at her, but her gaze stayed straightforward. Following her eyes, I saw a boy about her age with red hair, aqua blue eyes, and a tattoo on his forehead that I couldn't quite make out from this point. "Hey, Ri, who is that kid?"_' The events of last night came rushing at me. Was_ that_ the kid she was talking about? She never did tell me his name… or did she? I spent the rest of my class time pondering this.

_**~LINELINELINELINE~**_

"Hey, _Mitshu_-chan," A voice rang out in a mocking tone. I turned around to find Shinji leaning against a tree; pretending that the kunai in his hand was more interesting than I was.

"I told you not to call me that, _Shii-_chan," I said, keeping my tone calm. Shinji was with Kimiko when Rika was attacked… and if I remember correctly, he was the one who tried to kill her. "What do you want?" I tried not to show my increasing anger towards him.

"Oh, nothing much," he smiled, twirling the kunai in his hand. "I was just… thinking."

"Well then, that's a shocker," I scoffed. "I didn't know you had the brain capacity for something as difficult as that." I gave him a sweet smile and leaned on the fence that stood behind me. I was almost home, and all of the houses here had nice little fences surrounding their overly priced properties. I was pretty sure why he waited until now to talk to me; I knew he had been following me this whole time.

"You won't be able to do it for much longer…," he mumbled, completely ignoring what I said. How rude. No wonder nobody in our class really… wait… keep doing _what_?

"What are you talking about," I asked him; keeping my senses on high alert. Guess I really didn't know what he was going to say to me… oh well.

"Well," he dragged out the 'l' and twirled the kunai around in his hand, "I don't think that you'll be able to take care of your dear little sister for much longer is all." He tried his best to keep an innocent face, but I could tell that there was malice in his words. He glanced up at me as he waited for my reaction. I had to admit, I was a bit taken aback at his statement.

"I'm perfectly capable of looking after Rika, thank you very much." I kept my voice as calm as I could, and kept my expressions as blank as possible. Shinji just smiled and gave me a long side look.

"I don't think so _Mitshu_-chan." He giggled a little and began playing with his kunai once more. "Sooner or later, you'll run out of places to steal food; the salesmen will keep their eyes open for you two. And tell me, what do you plan on doing when you can't protect your sister? You can't be with her _all_ the time." He shrugged and looked at me with a malicious smile. "Things will only get harder for you two. Is this _really_ the life you want for Rika?" My heart froze, and I got that timeless-bubble feeling again. Shinji stiffened, and his eyes glazed over with fear.

"_How __**dare**__ you patronize __**me**__ you insignificant worm."_ My voice was so full of venom and hate that it didn't even feel as thought I had really said such a thing. However, I didn't stop there. "_You think that just because __**you**__ don't get my attention, that you'll convince me to get rid of my little sister?! Fool. You don't deserve the life you have. You're nothing but a coward. Tsk, you'll probably be killed in your first real mission, if you make it that far, and no one will even care."_ I had to stop myself from covering my mouth. Had I really just said all of that? I mean, we had never been friendly towards each other, but I would never say such things to someone… would I?

_**Keep going,**_ a voice told me. _**Just a little bit more and we'll never have to worry about him again.**_ I was suddenly dragged into my mind; leaving my physical body and appearing in a dark room filled with random clutter. _**He deserves this, and you know it!**_ The voice was behind me now, but I couldn't bring myself to turn around and face it; I was too scared. My body was shaking.

"Go away," I whispered. The last time I heard this voice was when… when… _**Hahahahaha, silly human, I can't leave you. I'm apart of you, just as you are a part of me! If I left your body, you'd die! **_I fell to my knees and started crying. "NO! Go away! Stop talking to me!! I don't need you!" _**You don't have a choice!! **_I clutched my head and slammed my eyes shut. "YES I DO!!" The voice was quiet after that, and I didn't hear a sound. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was back in the real world.

"Wh…" I looked up and saw Shinji curled up on the ground. His clothing looked tattered, as though someone just beat him up; his face was even bleeding a little. "What _**are**_ you?!" His voice was full of fear.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN/:**Heeeyyyy people!!!!! I'm really sorry it's taking me so long to get these chapters up, I keep going over them and adding things -_-" I hope you will like them, and I'd really like to thank all the people reading this… I can't believe that over 100 people have read this… I only have 2 (well, now 3) chapters up!!! ^w^ You guys just make my day! Cookies for everyone!!!! 3 Well yeah, I'm done wasting your time, so go ahead and read this!! Oh, one more thing, I'm sorry if this seems kinda slow pace, It's all for the sake of the story, honest! It'll pick up really soon!

_**The random voice **_(I'll explain that in a little bit! I promise!)

_Thinking_

Normal talking

'_Flash Backs'_

Rika's P.O.V.

"Rika," My big brother said to me, "be a good girl and stay here; I'm going to school." I nodded and gave him a big, fake, smile. Things were hard as it is, and I didn't want to make him worry about me anymore than he had to.

"Got it onii-chan."

"And stay _here_." I rolled my eyes at him.

"_Yes_ onii-chan." He stared at me for a few moments, not leaving the room. "You'll be late if you just stand there Mitsu-nii-san." He smiled and walked out, calling over his shoulder for me to be safe. I stood there for a few seconds, not wanting to face the fact that I was alone… again… not like us still living at our 'home' helped matters. _This place isn't a home anymore, _I told myself,_ it's just a house._ I closed my eyes and forced myself to see it just as that, a house. After a few deep breaths, I opened my eyes again.

'_"I'm really sorry for not finding you sooner… it's just that… well… my mom and dad… they…" Gaara glanced at me and started walking away, ignoring my apologies. It felt as though chains were pulling at my heart, and I found it hard to breath. I messed up again… just like when Mama was teaching me to play the piano, like when Mitsuru was teaching me the cloning jutsu, and like when daddy got mad. I always found a way to mess things up.'_

The events of yesterday came rushing to my head, making my heart hurt even more. "I want my mama," I whispered softly as I fell to my knees, embraced myself and began rocking back and forth. "Mama, I miss you…" Tears started streaming down my face and the image of her motionless body glowing in the moonlight flashed in my mind. "It's not fair!" I allowed myself to break down, and began sobbing like crazy. Every now and then, I'd stop breathing as I tried to control myself and stop wheezing for air.

"_**…Rika**_," A voice, that sounded an awful lot like my mother's, called out to me. I automatically stopped crying and froze; I didn't think that there was anyone here other than me. Embarrassed, I quickly whipped away my tears and spun around – still on my crouching position - to see who was there, only to feel like even more of an idiot when I didn't see anyone. "_**Oh dear, it seems you can't see me just yet…**_" My heart began to beat faster, but I kept my body calm.

"Who—"

"_**There's no use in hiding your emotions from me little Rika,**_" the voice cut me off. I should have run out of the house at that time, but something told me not to be scared. "_**That's a good girl. I'm not going to hurt you**_."She cooed to me. I took in a deep breath and stood up.

"Who are you, and why can't I see you?" I could feel arms wrap around my waist, as though someone was hugging me. I resisted the urge to spin around and punch whoever it was.

"_**Who I am isn't important right now, and I'm not sure why you can't see me.**_" The arms hugged me tighter, as if they were trying to reassure me. "_**I'm not going to hurt you,**_" she repeated. I couldn't say anything. Even though she said she wouldn't hurt me, I was still scared. After all, who wouldn't freak out if some random person, that they couldn't see, started talking to them? "_**I mean it Rika; I don't want to harm you.**_" How could I trust something I couldn't see? "_**You'll just have to.**_" Wait a tick… could she hear what I… "_**Very good! My, you're smart!**_" I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic, or serious. "_**Both.**_"

"How are you doing that?" I tried to keep my voice as demanding as possible, but I could hear it crack. She laughed at me and I could feel the hands around me shake with her.

"_**I'm sorry, but I don't really think you need to know that just yet. I know I come as a… shock to you…**_," she giggled again, "_**but I need you to trust me.**_" _Suuuuurrrrreeeee, trust the creepy talking voice with hands, not like we've gone crazy._ "_**You're not crazy. There's a very rational explanation as to why I'm here.**_" I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around the ones clinging to my waist. To my surprise, they were warm. "_**Something's about to happen and you're going to feel a lot of pain.**_" Her words felt like kunai knives stabbing my heart over and over again. My body froze in fear yet again and I stopped breathing. "_**But don't worry Rika,**_" she reassured me yet again, keeping her voice calm, "_**I'm**_ _**going to help you.**_" There was a long moment of silence, and I still found it hard to breathe. "_**Rika my dear, I know it's hard, but you need to keep smiling a little while longer. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you.**_" I started shaking and I could feel cold sweat accumulating on my face.

"Why do you even care?" My voice was quiet and spiteful. The hands hugged tighter still and I could feel someone's face press up against the side of mine.

"_**Because I care about you.**_" It seemed like such a simple answer. Her voice was strong, but it held a tinge of sadness. "_**I just need you to trust me, I'll protect you my darling little Rika.**_" And as fast as she had arrived, she left me. The arms that were around my waist were gone, and I was alone… again.

~LINELINELINELINELINE~

_We're crazy. We've lost it. Fist there's an invisible lady that can read my mind and can tell the future, and now… __**this.**_After my little… encounter… I went to the music room (stupid, I know. But hey, I spent many good times in this room) to play the piano. Even though mama died, I still wanted to play. I knew she wouldn't be able to hear me and let me know how I was doing, but I felt as though I had to… to help keep her spirit alive. However, this… this wasn't what I was expecting to see.

Her image was blurry, like when someone writes in ink and then smears it. She also had an odd goldish glow to her, and it reminded me of the way the sun shone through the leaves in autumn. I wanted to run over to her, hug her, tell her how much I missed her… but I knew this wasn't real because I was on the piano bench sitting right next to her. I looked the same way she did - blurry and glowing. She was looking over me with a smile on her face as I tried to play the piano. Her lips moved with grace and kindness just the way I remembered, but I couldn't hear her beautiful voice. Tears began to fall down my cheeks but I refused to move from where I was standing. Even if I had gone insane, even if I was watching the events of that night replaying right before me, I would not move; I couldn't. She was right there… only a few feet away from me, looking as marvelous as I remembered… but I knew this wasn't real. There was no way people could come back from the dead, and if there were, then why would I be seeing myself sitting next to her? My body began shaking and it was all I could do to keep myself standing. My lips called out to her, but my voice stayed silent. _**Snap out of it, this isn't real…**_ I closed my eyes tightly and inhaled as deeply as I could. _**We just have to stay calm…**_ I exhaled and slowly opened my eyes, only to find that my attempt to make her go away was in vain.

We still sat there in our glowing haze. Gradually though, the image began to weaken. I was the first to go, my body started to pixilate and each fragment floated away into the air and disintegrated. Then, like magic, my mother did the same. Just as her face was about to go, she turned and looked at me, her eyes shining with an odd mixture if sadness and happiness.

I couldn't contain myself at that moment. Even though my brain was telling me this wasn't real, my body ran to her; hoping to touch her once again. However, this was futile as well. I remained there, next to the piano, and glared down at the snowy white carpet. _**This isn't fair.**_ Why did this have to happen to me, to Mitsuru? Why did we have to be alone? I slowly sat down next to the piano, using it as something to lean on, and gazed out into the empty space before me. Misery began to infect my soul. _**A child shouldn't have to go through this… **_As soon as my dark feelings began sinking in, they left. It was as if some heavy weight had been lifted off my heart. My body began to tingle – like when your foot or hand would when it falls asleep – only it didn't hurt… it actually felt kind of good. It was all I could do to keep from giggling and I was finding it next to impossible to remember why I had been so depressed, or if I ever was at all.

~LINELINELINELINELINE~

I ended up spending the rest of my time lying on the floor of the music room drawing on some random sketchpad I had found. When I heard Mitsuru finally come home, I leaped up with joy and rushed to greet him.

"Mitsu-chan!" I beamed as in the living room; watching him drag his feet from the door over to me. _**Something's wrong…**_ "M… Mitsu-nii-san?" Something didn't feel right to me. Normally, he would have walked into the door with food or at least a smile on his face, not with his head hung low as he tried to hide his eyes from me.

"Rika," he said quietly in a voice I'd hardly heard him use. He still didn't look at me, but he did embrace me into a silent hug. We stood there for a good five minutes without saying anything.

"Mitsuru… is everything… okay?" He tightened his hold on me and rested his head on top of mine; the faint memory of someone warning me of something bad happening flashed in my mind and I grew cold. "Mitsuru." I said, my voice a little stronger. He slowly began to release me, keeping his hands on my shoulders, and for the first time since he had been home, he looked me in the eyes. His normally bright hazel orbs were a dark, muddy brown.

"Rika… you can't stay here anymore…" Something seemed to pop inside of me when he said that. I expected to feel confused, angry even, at his statement, but I only felt that same sparkling energy I had before.

"Yes I can," I beamed at him. "You'll see, things will work out! We have to stay together Onii-chan! That way we—"

"Rika!" His loud voice shocked me. "You… you don't get it." The 'spark' seemed to move from all over my body to just around my heart. "I…" He put his head down again and let go of me. He walked mournfully back outside and, without questions, I followed him. "Rika… these guys are gonna take care of you now…" I blinked at the back of his head in disbelief. The 'guys' he mentioned were two oddly dressed men. _**Don't trust anyone but Mitsuru. **_They were expelling dark energy that made me break into a cold sweat as well as make my heart race. _Mitsuru has to feel this… he's more of a ninja than I am. _I looked at my big brother for answers.

"What… is th—"

"I don't want you anymore." His harsh words hit me like a ton of bricks. My body suddenly didn't feel like my own and it felt next to impossible to keep myself from falling to the ground. That 'sparky' feeling began to melt away.

"Come now child," one of the men cooed to me. I glanced at him, trying to size him up. He was tall, probably taller than my father was, and he had on a long, black cloak with red clouds outlined in white all over it. He also wore a hat that had what looked like strips of paper dangling off its edges. I couldn't quite see his face, but I could tell that his skin was very pale. His voice was as creepy as his chakra. I glared and quickly decided that I didn't like this man. His companion seemed to be the exact opposite. He was short, although he had on the same outfit as the other, and what little of his skin I could see looked a dark tan, almost the same shade of treated wood. Odd.

"Come now girl," the short one said in a deep voice; he reminded me of a turtle, "I don't like to be kept waiting." _**Impatient fool. **_I shot him a glare as well and looked back at my older brother.

"Mitsuru…" my voice was very quiet, and I wasn't quite sure what to say to him.

"…Just go, they'll train you to become a ninja… just like you always wanted, Ri." He wouldn't look me in the eyes anymore. _**He's doing what he thinks' best.**_ _I'm being selfish,_ I decided. _He's only trying to look out for me… he doesn't want to hold me back…_ A small, sad smile played my lips. _He's just trying to be a good big brother._

"I understand… onii-chan." He looked up at me with a shocked face, and my smile grew a little. "Just promise me you'll stay safe, okay?" His eyes watered a little before he looked back down at the ground.

"Hn…" I then turned around to face the two men with a face full of hatred, not for my brother, but for them. I wouldn't hate my brother for this; I couldn't. However, hating these strangers didn't bother me one bit.

"Come with us," the tall one, he reminded me of a snake for some odd reason. He extended his hand towards me as if he expected me to take it so he could lead me away. I made a 'tsk'ing sound and looked past him, walking right in between the two of them.

_Guess I'm all alone again…_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey there!! The rest of this story will be in Rika's point of view ^w^ 

**Rin:** Oh and by the way rin is epic win! You'll learn about her later but she is AWESOME! Not my creation but I'm getting special permission to use her. She surpasses Rika in every way

**Mika:** *tackles Rin*….I apologize for my Kohai's lack of respect towards me and my readers… *glares at her* She's temporarily using my laptop so she'll be _gone_ soon… *smiles* 

**Rin:** …..No I wont! I'll never be gone!

**Mika: **Uhhh….. yeah… so… *looks around* I should probably talk to you about that… *laughs nervously*

**Rin:** *raises eyebrow* What did you do?

**Mika:** u-uhhh…. ON WITH THE STORY!!!! *runs for her life*

"_Thinking"_

"_**Voice"**_

Just when you think your life couldn't get any worse, it rains. Orochimaru -- they told me their names shortly after we left -- and Sasori kept walking as if the sky were crystal clear. I, on the other hand, was soaked to the bone.

"Stupid rain," I mumbled under my breath as I trudged behind them. The rain was something I hardly saw in Suna, and at first, I was happy to see it. However, that was when I thought we would find some place to wait it out. Man was I wrong. "Are we there _yet_?" I asked them for the hundredth time. Orochimaru, the tall, pale one, chuckled and looked back at me.

"No my dear, we have a while." I glared hard at the sky.

"Then how much longer?" Sasori, the turtle, stopped walking and scowled at me.

"Look girly, if you don't stop complaining I'll kill you myself," he sneered. I huffed and Orochimaru chuckled again. A few minutes passed before I spoke once more.

"Don't you guys know a jutsu or something that can teleport us there?" In the blink of an eye, possibly faster, a cold, metal, tail-like thing was pressed against my throat. On the outside, I was calm and didn't move, but in the inside, I was screaming in fear.

"Do not test my patents little one," Sasori growled. "I wasn't kidding when I said I would kill you." _**Don't push yourself. **_

"Of course, Sasori-sama," I beamed at him. My sudden change in attitude must have satisfied him, because he slowly retracted his tail and began walking again. Once he turned, I stuck my tongue out at him.

~LINELINELINELINELINE~

"We'll stop here for the night," Orochimaru's voice called out. I smiled happily as I followed him and Sasori to a small nearby cave. "I'll have first watch." Sasori didn't respond to him, but I nodded and walked into our overnight home.

"Girl," Sasori asked quietly, "do you know any jutsu?" _Wow,_ I thought spitefully, _the turtle knows how to say something without it being a threat. _I turned to him and glared.

"What's it to you? And you know I _do_ have a name." His gaze hardened and he turned away from me without saying another word, his short figure disappearing into the darkness. I tried to follow him, but the deeper into the cave I went the harder it was for me to see. "Where is he," I asked myself aloud, hoping he would give me some kind of clue. All of the sudden, a loud snap echoed from behind me, a second from my right. I quickly stopped walking and wrapped my arms around myself. _O-okay, it's just the turtle trying to scare me._ Another snap rang out and without thinking; I stopped breathing. _**Don't be scared. **_I slowly fell to my knees, trying to make as little sound as possible, and I struggled to see what was making the sounds.

As my eyes slowly began to adjust to the lack of light, my mind started to play tricks on me. From the corner of my eye, I swore I saw a speck of light. However, as soon as I focused on it, it went away. _That jerk has to be the one doing this… right?_ No sooner had I thought that, something darted towards me. Without thinking, I did something my father would probably be very upset over… that is, if he were still alive.

There was a bright flash of light and time seemed to come to a standstill; the object that had shot out at me was suspended in the air just inches from my heart. Slowly, it drew nearer and just as it was about to touch me, it began to split in two. It was as if something hot was slicing it right down the middle, melting it so the edges were dull instead of sharp. At closer inspection, I saw that it was a senbon. _**I told you, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you **_…it was the voice from before, the one that's been commenting everything I do lately. Once the senbon was in two, time sped up again and they deflected to either side of me, hitting the cave wall. I sat there, dumbfounded. I couldn't figure out how I did that, or if I was the one who pulled that off. To be honest, I couldn't think of where or when I could have learned something like that. The only jutsu I recall being taught is the shadow clone jutsu and a little of my kekkei genkai.

"Impressive… _girl_," Sasori's voice broke my train of thought. I shook my head violently and glared at where his voice came from.

"It's _Rika_!" I heard him chuckle and a fire suddenly popped in front of me, courtesy of Sasori. We were silent for a while, but then it hit me… "You jerk! You could have killed me!" I jumped up with clenched fists and glared daggers at him.

"But I didn't." He didn't even bother to look up at me; he just sat there staring at the small fire he made.

"And what if you _did_?!" I was starting to get angrier, and the fact that I was still soaked wasn't helping.

"It was connected to a chakra string," he sighed. I relaxed a little and unclenched my fists.

"Why… did you do that anyways?" It took him a while before he answered me, but what he said really confused me.

"I needed to make sure you could at least dodge that. If you couldn't, then there's no way you'd be able to survive a whole day back at the Akatsuki base." I could only blink at him.

"A…kat…suki," I repeated quietly. What in the world was he talking about?

"You've never heard of us… have you?" Even though I could see it, I could _hear_ the smirk in his voice. I crossed my arms, sat down, and started to pout a little.

"No. Why, should I have?" He chuckled at me and put his head down. I gave him a wary look as his body suddenly became limp. I got in a crouching position, in case I needed to run, and I kept my eyes glued to his figure. A snap, different from the ones I heard a few seconds ago, came from his body and he started to open up. It was like some jewelry box opening after years of being closed; his body made a lot of creaking sounds as it unfastened. I gulped down the urge to scream, my body refused to move. Once his back stopped moving, another figure stepped out from his body. I started to sake a little and I could feel myself break out in a cold sweat.

"Are you _that_ scared," his voice mocked me. The second cadaver sauntered (WOOT! I used big words!! :3) out of the shadows and stepped in front of the fire. "The people in the Akatsuki are full of surprises, me included. They won't hesitate to kill you." His voice wasn't as deep, but I could tell this was still Sasori. He had red hair, just like Gaara, and his body seemed to glow in the light the fire casted. His hazle-ish colored eyes held a tinge of boredom and something else I couldn't quite evoke (another awesome word!!). "Don't tell the others that you've seen my real body, got it?" His voice snapped me out of whatever trance I seemed to be in.

"Y-yeah… wait…" A small smirk played my lips. "You mean… the colorless-wonder has no idea that _that's_ your real body?" He stifled a laugh and nodded.

"That's exactly what I mean." My smirk grew as an idea popped in my mind.

"Well then, if that's the case…" I tilted my head back, keeping my eyes on him, and let out a small giggle. "You know, I've never really been good at keeping secrets…" I gave him an innocent look.

"You… little…" I tried not to burst out laughing; his face was twisted with rage and annoyance. "You wouldn't _dare_."

"Oh really?" I stood up and stretched out, my body making numerous pops. "I'm still soaked to the bone here, and I haven't had anything to eat yet today…" I laced my fingers behind my head and looking out towards the direction the opening of the cave was.

"What do I look like, you're slave?" He was trying very hard to keep as much composure as possible, but I could tell I was getting to him. I smirked a little and looked back at him.

"No, you look like some ginger-kid fool that thinks he can trust me. You know, I've only known you for a few hours and already you trust me with your true identity." I moved my arms and relaced my fingers together behind my back, tilting the upper half of my body closer to him. "For some bad ass ninja you sure are stupid." As soon as the words left my mouth, I was pinned up against the cave wall with a senbon to my throat. Sasori's once bored eyes were now full of rage.

"How _dare_ you mock me!" His voice was bursting with discontent. _**I told you not to push yourself. **_ I didn't mean to, but that woman's voice made me twitch a little. The way Sasori's eyes changed caused me to think that he thought my involuntary reaction was due to him. _**I'll talk to him…**_ Fear started to swell up inside of me. I didn't even know if this lady was real, forget about letting her talk to Sasori; he'd think I've gone crazy! _**I wasn't giving you a choice,**_ her voice was suddenly harsher.

"Look," my lips started moving on their own, "I'm sorry, okay?" I tried to stop talking, but it was as if I no longer had control of my body. "It's just that…" my head sunk a little and my eyes moved towards the ground. _What are you doing!_ If I couldn't say anything aloud, then I'd chew out this person that decided to take over my body. _This is MY body! This isn't right! Stop it!_ You would think that looking at everything through someone else's eyes would be somewhat cool, but this was just out right weird.

_**Silence child! **_

_I would say make me but it seems as though you already have!_

_**Yes, because you're going to get us killed!**_

_I have this under control!_

_**Oh, of course! Making an S-ranked assassin pissed is going to help!**_

_Oh shut up!_ I could hardly believe that I was arguing with myself. _You're just… wait… what do you mean 'getting US killed'?___

_**As I do believe I've stated before, you are a part of me, just as I am a part of you. If you die, I die. **_

_So… I'm not crazy? You're really… _

"You really are annoying," Sasori's voice shook me out of my odd trance. My head shot up – I was able to move on my own again – and I looked him in the eyes. "If you talk to the other members like that you'll die…" he let go of me and I fell to my knees. "You're lucky that Leader-sama asked you be brought to him alive." He sounded harsh, but I couldn't really blame him. I was out of place… if I had said something like that to my father…

Something was suddenly thrown over my head. "Hey!" I quickly removed it and glared at Sasori, only to find him back inside of that turtle thing. "What is this?"

"Get some sleep," he demanded. _His… cloak… _ I quickly looked down at the thing he tossed at me. It was big, black, and had a red cloud outlined in white pattern on it. I promptly looked back at Sasori, only to find him asleep. I glanced back down at his cloak then back at him.

"Th… thank you…" He didn't say anything, I didn't really expect him to. I smiled and spread it out so I could wrap myself up.


	5. IMPORTANT! I think anyways

**AN/** So, I kinda had a blond moment here; I deleted the chapters I had instead of replacing them (I didn't see that until AFTER I deleted them -_-" …..fail) so when the people who've got this story on their alerts get en e-mail saying I just put up 3 new chappies, I'm sorry, but ya'll will be disappointed…. But…. At least I fixed my line problem!! I hope you can all be patient with me. My photography class has been demanding most of my time however I will have you know that I HAVE been working on the next chapter!!! It'll be up soon, promise!!

Pease easy everyone!!!

~Mika


	6. Chapter 5

As always…:

_**That lady person**_

_Thinking_

Normal

^^; I'm sorry it's taken me so long… Enjoy and review!!!!!

What seemed like the best place to run away to turned out to be the worse. For as long as I can remember my dreams have always been very vivid, and this time there didn't seem to be any acceptation.

There was no color, and at first, there was no sound. Even though I could _feel_ the wind blowing through my hair and smell the familiar scent of rain, I couldn't hear the soft melody the sky seemed to be playing for me nor feel the wind wrap around and embrace me. For as far as the eye could see, there were trees; hordes and hordes of trees ranging in size and shape. I stood there, in the rain, for what seemed like forever. I didn't feel sad, angry, or even alone; I was at peace. That is, until one simple hum made my tranquil moment go into ruin.

"_Rika…"_ It was as if the wind spoke it, and not my mother. She sounded so far away and her voice seemed to strain to reach my ears. Then, just like that, the once affectionate wind thrashed around me like a whip and the rain felt like needles stabbing at my skin. The only sound that I could hear was the roar of the heavy downpour. However, like most dreams, everything suddenly changed. I wasn't in some random forest like place anymore; instead, I was next to a random pond. Why? Because dreams have a way of doing things that don't really make any sense.

Everything seemed to have a hazy look to it, like fog. The pond wasn't very big, but just the size to make the massive Weeping Willow to seem a little less towering. Other than the body of water and the tree, there didn't seem to be anything else there besides grass, grass and, get this, more grass.

"_Are you scared little one?"_ A feminine's voice called out to me. I slowly turned around to face the pond, only to see a very beautiful woman standing in the middle of it. She had long, and I mean long, dark, purple-blue hair that came down to her feet, just grazing the top of the water. Her eyes were a deep shade of lavender that seemed to look right into, and through, my soul. A white kimono with sky blue flowers stitched onto the edges of the bottom harmonized with her pale skin. _"Even the bravest of shinobi have fear inside of them."_ Her voice was like silk. 

"I," I started to say, but my voice was lost in the space between us. For some reason, she seemed oddly familiar.

"_You must know, dear child, that I am bound to you."_ Something inside of me told me that should mean something, but I couldn't figure it out. _"No matter how scared you may feel, I will never let you be alone; I will protect you with all that I have. However, I can't do everything for you. As a mother would tend to her child, I shall tend to you. Our bond in unbreakable, and is like nothing others in our situation have seen. Consequently, you will have different outlooks and views compared to those around you, but don't fret; this is a good thing. We are not like the others; we are better." _She said that last part with a bit more pride than the rest. Without really comprehending what she said, I felt like I understood. It doesn't make much sense, but hey, dreams tend to do that. Although, I have to admit, this dream seemed a bit more realistic than any other did, and this beautiful woman's voice sounded very familiar. _"Now, my dear, I'm afraid that it's time for _us_ to wake up." _Us? What did she mean by—?

And, just like that, everything went black. The pond, the Weeping Willow, the woman, all of it disappeared.

Then I opened my eyes, and my dream seemed to slip away along with my drowsiness. I slowly lifted my head and quickly regretted it; a sharp pain in my neck made me wince. Must have been form sleeping on the cave floor. Wait, Cave? Yeah… that's right, I slept in a cave. But… why? Oh, that's right… Mitsuru sent me away… and I was with Sasori and Orochimaru now. (**AN/ **Sad thing is, when I'm at a hotel or something, I wake up asking myself where I am and how I got there .) Speaking of them, where were they? I looked around to see that the fire was nothing but burnt embers. What little sunlight there was peeked into my overnight home, giving everything an almost beautiful glow.

"Are you alright," a deep voice called to me. Without looking, I knew it was Sasori.

"Why wouldn't I be? It's not like I slept on rocks or anything… oh wait," I brushed a hand through my hair and a few pebbles fell to the ground, "I guess I did." I stood up and looked to where his voice came from.

"That's not it…" He was inside of his turtle thing, near the opening of the cave. His back was facing the exit and Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen. "I meant sleeping wise; you kept muttering to yourself." I could only blink at him. Had I been dreaming? If I was, I couldn't remember any of it.

"I'm… sorry?" He simply sighed and started walking out, and like the idiot I am, I stayed there.

"Rika," a soft yet spine chilling voice called out, "it's time for us to go. We'll be at the base soon." Even though I didn't know these two, I already knew I liked Sasori more than Orochimaru… even if he did try to kill me and was a total jerk. Orochimaru just seemed so… _untrustworthy_.

"I'm commin'." There wasn't much need to raise my voice; it carried nicely in here. I giggled quietly as I stepped loudly out to the two 'Akatsuki' members.

**~LINELINELINELINELINE~**

"So," I said, drawing out the 'o'. Orochimaru looked back at me with a small smile. "What are the others like? In the Akta…si…ki?"

"_Akatsuki,"_ Sasori corrected me instantly. I shot him a glare only to have him ignore it.

"There are nine of us," Orochimaru answered. I looked up at him.

"Only nine? That seems like a small number to me… what do you guys even do?"

"You'll have to talk to Pein about that." My eyebrow rose. _Pein?_ What kind of name is that? Sounds like pain. Maybe he's missing limbs or something.

"He's our leader," Sasori sighed, breaking me from my head babble.

"Ah…" And with that, the three of us fell back into that weird silence we were in the other day. Orochimaru gave me one last creepy snake smile and continued walking and Sasori went to Sasori-Land; ignoring me and glaring ahead. Huh, maybe Sasori-Land isn't a happy place. Probably has turtles roaming around everywhere… trying to take over his little world. Yeah, that's it. Talking ninja turtles… of doom. (**AN:** hah, teenage mutant ninja turtles!!) "Sasori, do you like turtles?" The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Do I… _what_?" He stopped walking—as did Orochimaru—and turned to glare at me.

"W-well, its just t-that," I could feel my face turning red, damn my thoughts, "t-that thing you're in looks kinda like a turtle and I was just—"

"This_ thing_ is a _puppet_ and his name is _Hiruku._" His voice was sharp and harsher than I thought it needed to be.

"So you could tell that that isn't his real body?" Orochimaru's question caught me off guard. Didn't Sasori say that no one knew that he was really a ginger kid like Gaara? Speaking of Gaara… I kinda missed him.

"U-uhh…" my face started getting hot again, "I-I suppose so." His creepy smile grew as his eyes shown something I couldn't quite place. I started to feel lightheaded, as if his attention towards me was taking a hold of me and suffocating me. _**Change the topic.**_ "S-so the other members… are there any other girls?" I hoped that he wouldn't catch the shakiness of my voice, or that I was starting to shake a little. For some reason, I couldn't stand to have him look at me… he reminded me of my father.

"There's one other." I silently thanked Sasori for answering before Orochimaru. "Her name is Konan."

"K-Konan, huh?" I beamed at him.

"Yeah…" he just stood there, studying me.

"W-well," I looked at the ground, feeling like a total moron, "we should get going." I gave the two of them my best fake smile.

"We wouldn't want to keep Pein waiting." Orochimaru gave me one last spine tingling, slimy, snake-like smile before he started walking again. Sasori, on the other hand, just turned around and followed him. However, I swear he gave me a quick worried glance beforehand. _**Follow your gut feeling and everything will be fine, **_the lady in my head cooed to me before going silent once more. I couldn't help the small sigh that escaped my lips, but I was very glad that neither the snake nor turtle caught it.

**AN: **Annnnd that's a wrap!!! :D hoped ya'll liked it!!! See ya later! Have a good week!! ….. 

………………………...

…….Wow, you really think I'd sit here and give you all such a short chapter after soooo long? *smiles* No way would I do something like THAT. *coughs* . S-so anyways, ^-^ On with the story!!!! (BTW: I'm counting this as a line!)

"Why the hell are we just _standing_ here on this cliff?" Orochimaru answered me before Sasori could.

"There's a jutsu that's protecting this place an--," I really hated it when older people treated me like a child. I _am_ seven.

"I can _see _that." I kept my voice sharp. "That's why," I pointed at the tag that was placed on the middle of a rather large rock, "that's there." I squinted at it to see what the writing was. "Is it… is it a paper bomb?" I looked to Sasori.

"No, it's a different kind of tag--"

"This one corresponds with four other tags that have to be removed at the same time, otherwise it will explode," Orochimaru finished for Sasori. My irritation levels suddenly rose.

"That's stupid. Anyone can create shadow clones and do just that." I let out a loud sigh and closed my eyes. "Not much protection if you ask me. However you never answered my first question." I opened my eyes and glared at Orochimaru. "If this is the right place then _why are we standing here_?" He blinked and looked at the rock.

"We're waiting for permission." I rolled my eyes. Who has their base in the middle of the woods on a river? _**You're starting to sound like a spoiled brat.**_

"Oh just… shut it," I murmured to myself, only realizing that I had said that aloud when Sasori gave me an irritated glare. The woman in my head let out a soft chuckle._** It seems that the more time you spend with them the angrier you become; this is out of character for you. **_(**AN:** I just noticed that I've been making Rika be really bitchy… sorry everyone) Why was she suddenly so talkative? _Shut up! The past few days have been really… hard… for me. It's not like I'm trying to be mean… I just don't trust that snake guy._ She laughed again. _**I don't blame you. Just remember what I said before: I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. **_The thought of me being crazy flashed in my mind again.

"Let's go," Orochimaru's voice rang in my head, snapping me out of my conversation. I looked at him, then down to the water. "Do you not know how to control your chakra so you can walk on the water?" I glared at him.

"Just because I've never been to an Academy doesn't mean I don't know how to do anything." I took a step closer to the edge of the drop off and jumped with as much strength as I could, silently praying that I wouldn't make a fool of myself. Never once had I been given the opportunity to use my chakra to do something like walking on water. However, every day – when my parents were still… you know… - my brother would sit down with me and tell me everything he learned in class. That, along with my father randomly wanting to train me, made it so that I was pretty much at the same level my big brother was… is at. Every now and then, he would train with me, and if I could land a really good blow he'd-- _**Enough reminiscing. If you don't pay attention, you'll fall right into the water. **_As quickly as I could, I focused on moving all my energy to the balls of my feet. When I touched the water, I expelled a little of my chakra into it and ran at the giant boulder. I tried not to let the shock show in my face; I had gone much faster than I thought I could and, when I stopped, I was still above the water.

Orochimaru chuckled, appearing on my right. "My, aren't you full of surprises? First you're able to tell that Sasori's living in a puppet, and now you have amazing chakra control." _Did he just say amazing?_

"Thought you never went to school." Sasori popped up on my left. I quickly looked at him.

"My brother," I decided to leave out my father, "taught me." Before either of them could comment, the giant rock before us began to melt, along with any courage I had. My muscles started to tense up and I could feel my knees shaking a little. Even though I put on a brave face, I was scared out of my pants. I didn't want to meet their 'Leader'. I didn't want to stay with the Akatsuki. All I wanted was to turn around and go find my brother. However, I knew that was impossible. He sent me away because he thought this was best for me, and if this is what he wanted I'd gladly do it. After all, he's the only person I have left.

"It's my policy to not keep people waiting," Sasori's voice seemed to calm my knees a little, "so we might as well get this over with." I looked over at him and gave a small nod. _**I know you don't want this, but right now, there is no backing out. I'll be with you if you need me.**_

**AN: ** And that's it for this chapter!!! Sorry I cut it a little short, but I'll get the next one up ASAP. My server's been bugging lately, so I haven't been able to get online for over two weeks… Needless to say I'm jonesing really bad . I apologize for not getting this up sooner, my photography class kinda stole my soul and that's the only thing I've had any time for. My finals are this week, so I might have some time to type after that's all done. Again, it would be most epic if once you're done reading you'd review. I love hearing from you all and if you have any ideas, let me know! 3 Peace Easy! 3


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update! I've been helping my dad remodel his girlfriends bathroom, so I haven't had much time to type. ^^; I'm also on my Spring Break right now (However, I'll be in Ohio with family and won't be able to work on this)!!! Thank you all for reading and I hope you like this chapter!!

Oh, one more thing, if you think there's something I need to work on (writing wise) please let me know. I'm all for making my stories better. Read, Review, and Enjoy!!!! 3

These people must have some sort of obsession with dark, creepy caves. I had expected the giant rock to… I don't know, slide off to the side or something to reveal… some kind of… actual home. However, life has a way of slapping me in the face. The boulder didn't slide off into space as I had thought it would. Instead, it '_melted_' into the ground as if it were made of water. Oh, and that cozy little… _house thing_ I imagined? It was more like an oversized version of the cave Sasori and I had slept in the other night.

"This is it," I inquired aloud. Orochimaru looked back and smiled at me; not answering my question. I shot him a glare and walked behind Sasori, making sure not to forget about keeping control of my chakra so I didn't fall into the water.

As we entered, a bone chilling feeling shook my insides; it was all I could do to keep standing. _**Breath.**_ I obeyed the voice in my head and kept walking. Solid ground quickly replaced the water, and the shadows all around me devoured the sun's rays. _**Keep your guard up.**_ I swallowed hard and looked form Orochimaru to Sasori. They didn't seem to feel what I was feeling. If they were, they sure did a good job at not showing it.

The boulder 'melted' back into place and all I could see was darkness. As my eyes began to adjust to the lack of light, rainbowed silhouettes of people popped up from nowhere. I tried to make out what they looked like, but the best I could do was tell how their hair was styled, as well as the color of their eyes. _**It's a jutsu. Don't be scared.**_

"Who is this," a booming voice rang out. My head automatically snapped towards the sound. "You two were supposed to get information about the Jinchuriki, not bring back some little brat!" I couldn't help but twitch at his comment. All I could see of him was his spiky hair, beady eyes, and a huge sword on his back.

"You know, calling random people 'brats' isn't very nice," I mumbled. The sword guy smirked, reveling some rather sharp teeth… like a shark's. The man standing next to him was the next to speak.

"She has a point." I blushed slightly and looked at the ground; I hadn't meant for anyone to hear me. _**If you didn't want them to hear you, then you should have kept your mouth shut.**_ I twitched. _I didn't ask for your opinion. _ The voice in my head let out a mocking laugh. _**I'm sorry my dear, but you don't have much of a choice.**_ I clenched my fists and began to pout a little.

"Aw, looks like you embarrassed her, Kisame," another, harsher voice said. "She's got her tiny fists clenched and everything." My anger was quickly diverted towards him. This one had slicked back hair and purple-ish pink eyes.

"Enough," a different voice demanded. All of the others in the room tensed up, and I swear I could hear them all hold their breath. An eerie silence filled 'the cave' as the owner of the voice stepped out from the shadows. His eyes had rings around the pupils, and he had spiky hair like the sharks, only his seemed wilder. _**He's the leader.**_ I slowly unclenched my fists and tried to relax my body as much as possible. The leader walked to the center of the circle the others had formed around me and glared down at me. "Who is this?"

Sasori, finally breaking his I'm-not-going-to-talk phase, answered him before Orochimaru had the chance. "This is Rika Tetnomi. Her older brother gave her to us." I flinched at his emotionless tone. How could he say such a thing as if stuff like this happens all the time? Better yet, how could he say that my brother 'just gave' me to them?

"She has a lot of potential," Orochimaru added. The others around us scoffed at his statement.

"For a _snack_," one of them purred. A cold shiver shot down my spine. _**They aren't the ones you need to pay attention to.**_ The leader walked closer to me, and the others backed off a little. His eyes were like daggers that pierced right through me; I found it hard to breathe as his chakra made the air denser. Even though I had that woman's voice to help me, I still felt scared.

"What jutsu do you know, girl?" His voice was harsher than his gaze, as hard as that may seem._** Answer him quickly.**_

"Molecular clone jutsu," I kept my voice quiet yet strong, "and I have a kekkei genkai." His eyes narrowed and I tried hard not to flinch. He didn't say anything for a while; we just stood there in the middle of this dark, dank cave. I would have forgotten about the others around me, that is, if the pink-eyed one hadn't spoken.

"I say you let me sacrifice her, Leader-sama. She's nothing but a little bitch!" I'm not sure f it was because of all the tension that built up, or if it was just because I was scared, but something inside of me told me that if I didn't stand up for myself now they'd all take me as some kind of push-over.

"Watch it _Slick_," I growled – not taking me eyes off the leader. The man standing next to Slick chuckled.

"Looks like the brat's got spunk." Slick glared at him and was about to retaliate when the leader spoke.

"Rika, was it?" The man I insulted quickly quieted down.

"Yes… Leader-dono," I said, my voice a little bit stronger than it was before.

"What is your kekkei genkai?" I swallowed hard. My father had told me to never show my jutsu to anyone; it's bad enough I told him I had one… but to explain my bloodline trait? Father would have me killed. _**Your father's dead, remember?**_ I winced slightly._** Look, this guy isn't the type of person you can keep waiting. Just tell him; you don't have to go into any details. **_I let out a defeated sigh.

"I have complete control over electricity." Slick scoffed at me.

"News flash bitch, that's not a bloodline trait." Well, there goes my self-control… and temper.

"You shouldn't be so arrogant _Slick_," my voice was harsher than it's ever been, but I refused to back down – as well as look at anyone but the leader. "Underestimating others is a big mistake. If that's the way you handle yourself on a mission, you must fail a lot." I didn't have to look at him to tell he was in shock. "Besides, you seem to have misunderstood what I meant." I left things at that and closed my eyes for a few seconds. _**Don't get him too worked up, we can't handle a full-scale battle right now.**_ I ignored her and looked back at the leader. His eyes hadn't changed, however I did see a tinge of amusement in them.

"What did you just--" Slick began to shout.  
"_Hidan_," the leader called as he redirected his glare to him. The way he said Slick's name reminded me of the way my father would call to my mother when he was angry; it sent shivers down my spine and made my heart feel heavy. The leader looked back down at me, and everyone remained quiet. "My name is Pain." He turned and began to walk away. "She stays alive… for now." It wasn't until he left that I realized that I had been shaking the whole time.

"You did pretty good child," Orochimaru cooed.

"Pretty good?" Slick went back to yelling. "This fucking bitch insulted me and you praise her?!" I looked him in the eyes for the first time, only to be greeted by a harsh glare. Instead of glaring back at him, I gave him a big smile.

"Yup, and I'm gonna be here insulting you for a while _Slick_ so you best get used to it!" Before he could do anything, one of the people around me snapped their fingers once and immediately a horde of overly bright lights flashed on.

"Hidan, shut up," a man called out. I tried to get a good look at the owner of the voice as my eyes adjusted to the sudden burst of light. He had bright green eyes that seemed to glow, and a white hood covered most of his face – however, there was some black cloth that covered his mouth – and he also had a ninja headband… only, it had a huge gash right in the middle. _**He's from the waterfall village… the gash means he's a missing ninja. **_ I thought for a second. _So… they can't find him? _The voice got angry._**No, you idiot. That means he betrayed his village. **_You would think that something like that would bother me, but for some reason it didn't faze me.

"No," Hidan cried. "I don't get why Leader-sama wants her alive! She's just a bitch!"

"If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," I quietly quoted my mother's favorite statement. Hidan froze and glared at me.

"I'm with the brat," the waterfall ninja said. I couldn't help but twitch at my newly found nickname, if that's what you could call it.

"Traitor!" Hidan began yelling and swearing at the ninja in the mask.

"Did… I do something wrong," I asked Sasori. He looked at me for the first time since we'd entered their hideout.

"No, not really." He moved in front of me, blocking my view of the two arguing Akatsuki members. "They're just always like that." I could tell be the sound of his voice that he was tired. I couldn't blame him though, we had been walking for two days – one of those days it was raining – and neither of us had much sleep.

"So, tell us kid," one of the other men said to me, "how old are you?" I stared at my inquirer (**A/N:**** Guah!! I'm running outta words here!!! .) **and blinked. It was the shark man, and now that I could get a better look at him… he really did look like a shark.

"I'm… seven." Hidan and his 'friend' stopping fighting.

"Seven? You fucking kidding me?" Slick yelled. _Can you talk without yelling?_

"N-no…" I looked away from him and back to the Shark. The person standing next to him quirked his eyebrow ever so slightly. His red eyes seemed as though they were trying to tell everything about me without uttering a single word, and the lines on either side of his face made it look like he was really sad.

"Then you should have been in some sort of school, correct," he asked. _**Tell him the truth.**_

"U-uh, no… I haven't." Everyone in the room turned to look at me.

"A seven year old _kid_ with no training, and she made it into an S-ranked organization," The Shark said slowly as he shook his head, a smirk plastered on his blue face. Once he said that, something, or rather someone, 'grew' out of the wall and walked over to me. Half of his body was white, and the other black. His eyes glowed yellow and a funny looking plant thing grew from his shoulders and reached far above his head. _**Don't get to close to that one.**_ I nodded inwardly and continued to look at the Plant Thing.

"I say we eat her," he said, his voice dark and raspy. "Leader-sama said he wants her alive," he said again, only this time his voice wasn't as harsh._ What the… __**He has split personality, the black side was the first voice and the white the other. **_My eyes grew in wonder and amazement.

"Why would you want to eat me?" Hidan smirked, so did the Shark, and the others gave me somewhat apologetic glances. "I mean, don't you want to eat someone who's fatter?" The Plant Thing seemed taken aback by my question, and everyone else just gave me funny looks. "People with muscles or that are all boney probably don't taste good, right? Like with normal meat?" _**Just stop talking…**_ The Shark chuckled.

"Well, this is going to be interesting."


	8. Chapter 7

A/N~~When Zetsu is speaking: _"His dark half" _"His light half"

So, I'm sorry this one took so long! My motherboard fried on my laptop and it's taken quite some time to get it fixed… . I hope you all aren't mad at me. I feel really bad for not uploading in forever. School's kinda stolen my soul; I've got a lot of hard classes and finals are coming up. Anyways, I'm gonna shut up now so you can read.

Sorry it's so short!  
… Reviews please? 

"I'm bored," I groaned as I stretched out my arms and let out a yawn. "Why am I stuck here with _you_ anyways?"

"Hell if I know," came an irritated response. I glanced over to my 'companion' and frowned. Once Zetsu showed up, the others began to disperse. Sasori had left to 'make repairs' on Hiruko, Orochimaru went to… well, to be honest I didn't really care. The others more than likely thought of me only as a bother. Kakuzu, the waterfall ninja, told Hidan to 'watch over me until Konan got here'.

"Don't you have anything here to do?" A low growl escaped from his throat as he stormed away. A few seconds passed and I was beginning to think he'd taken the hint and left me, just as the others had. However, my hopes were soon demolished when he came storming back.

"_Here_," he snarled. A small stack of papers dropped in front of me. "Entertain yourself." I was about to say something, but that nagging voice in my head suddenly came back. _**Keep your mouth shut.**_ I sighed and sat down on the ground. _What am I even supposed to do with this?_ I looked up at Slick. "I'm leaving. I have better things to do than babysit some kid-bitch." I tried not to wince at his words and waited until the sound of his footsteps dissipated.

"What, no pencil," I questioned the emptiness. Bringing my gaze to the papers, I allowed my eyes to relax out of their glare and into sadness. _I miss my brother._ My fingers grazed a nearby paper. _And my mother._ I picked it up and began folding it. _What was he thinking?_ I grabbed another piece and started folding it as well. _Why let these people take me?_

"Do you know how to make anything else, other than hearts that is," a soft, feminine voice called out from behind me. I froze. The sound of footsteps closed in on me, and I could feel the presence of the voice's owner in my wake. I slowly turned to face the woman and automatically blushed; she was beautiful. She brushed a lock of blue hair behind her ear and sat down next to me.

"I-I was never taught how to make anything. I j-just… started folding…" I lowered my gaze. _Why am I stuttering?_ She placed her hand on her cheek and gently scratched at it.

"If you'd like, I can show you." A perfectly square piece of paper peeled away from her face. I stared at her in awe. "It's rather simple." She handed it to me and I gently took it. My movements remained slow, but she didn't seem to mind.

"You're Konan, aren't you?" She nodded before peeling yet another perfect square from her face. She began tucking in the corners, and I quietly did the same. _I'm not the only girl here._

"Sasori brought you here." I nodded. A while passed before either of us said anything. To be honest, I didn't mind the silence. She was different from the others, and I found myself becoming distracted from thoughts about my brother's actions. "You're a fast learner." I nodded my head in response.

"I have to be." She kept her eyes on her work, but I could tell she was curious. "My father always told me that there is no time to learn things at your own pace. The faster you learn, the faster you move on." My voice stayed quite as I tried to hide my pain. _**Fret not little one, he's gone now; he can't hurt you ever again.**_ Silence filled the air yet again and we were both soon finished with our origami. I blinked in surprise at the beautifully folded koi fish before me.

"It's getting late." I looked at her and nodded. "You'll be sleeping in a separate wing than the boys. For…" she paused as she thought for the right words, "safety reasons." I wanted to ask her what she meant, but she continued. "Itachi, would you mind showing her to her room?" My brows furrowed as I looked behind her. Sure enough, there stood Itachi. _When did he even get there?_

"Of course." I looked back at Konan.

"You need to get some sleep," she stated. I stifled a defeated sigh and stood up, leaving my koi, and walked over to the man. He didn't bother making eye contact with me; he just turned around and began walking. I had half a mind to stand there and wait for him to give me some sort of command. However, that probably would have caused some major issues. It's bad enough Slick has it out for me. _**We don't need any more problems with these people. **_I groaned inwardly and jogged after Itachi.

The whole time we walked, he never said a thing. No 'hey, welcome to our cave!', or 'wow, sorry you had to travel with Orochimaru'. Nothing. The man just continued looking forward. _**Some people are just like that, and he's not a man. He's still just a boy. **__Riiiight and I'm 21._ I swear I could feel her glare at me. _**You should have paid more attention to the news around you! This child's only 15!**_ I almost tripped. How could he be only eight years older than me? I mean, sure, he's a lot shorter than the other guys, but he's got the air of an old man! _**All of the Nations have been talking about him; Itachi Uchiha. Didn't you ever overhear the others talking about it? **_I shook my head. I was never allowed to go outside, and when I did, I couldn't be alone. The only time I had disobeyed that rule was when…

"You can stay here for the night," Itachi said as he stopped, making me almost walk into him. I glanced around the room he escorted me to and pouted.  
"It's tiny and dusty," I glared at him. He smirked, still not looking at me, and walked away. I stood in the doorway for a few seconds and waited for his footsteps to fade into the distance. When I couldn't hear anything I dropped my pout and frowned. Like a robot, I walked into my new dwelling and shut the door without a sound. _I don't feel like moving anymore._ I leaned against the door and slid to the floor, bringing my knees up close to my chest.  
_** Rika...**__  
It feels like everyone's left me. How is being with these people supposed to keep me safe?__**  
I'm here with you; I haven't left you. I never will.**_  
I sighed heavily and lifted my head. I wasn't exaggerating when I said this room's tiny. The only things in it was a bed, nightstand, and an open door leading to a bathroom which, more than likely, was just as small.

I suddenly felt very tired; it was as if I hadn't slept in days and my body was finally catching up with me. Wait… that is what happened. My heavy lids slowly closed and, somehow, I found the strength to drag myself to my new, dusty bed. "Goodnight random lady in my head," I slurred. The last thing I heard before falling asleep was a light chuckle in the back of my mind.


	9. Chapter 8

"She's just a kid!" Don't you just love waking up to people yelling outside your door?

"She's the same age as we were when we started training!" I sure don't.

"But this isn't the same!" Wait, yelling? Don't these people know what time it is? It's still dark outside! _**There aren't any windows here.**_ _Oh, yeah… _I opened my eyes and rolled over to face the door. Voices continued to shout at each other; I didn't bother listening to who was saying what. _**They've been at it for a while now. **_Sighing, I crawled out from under my covers and headed toward the bathroom. _Whatever they're fighting about, couldn't they do it someplace else? _

Once I had reached my destination, I slapped my hand on the wall and fumbled around for the light switch. When it flicked on, I almost screamed. There was a mirror right in front of me, and I looked horrid. My long, red-brown locks were knotted all over the place, my pale skin was caked in dirt, and to top it all off, my eyes had somehow changed color. Well, not completely. The normally deep blue shade was now slate grey with a hint of purple; some lovely dark bags hung under them. _**You **_**have**_** been though a lot.**_ I shook my head and looked frantically about the room. A shower/bath peeked from behind a wall, and I quickly ran to it. Thankfully, there was soap and shampoo.

After I had rid my body of the layer of grim, I climbed out of the hot, heavenly water. I looked around for something to dry off with, and found a folded towel on the counter. _Convenient._ Wrapping it around me with a sigh, I stood in place for a few moments, letting my mind wake up all the way. When it did, however, I could have screamed. I had no clothes to change into. Sure, there was a random towel and supplies to clean myself, but nothing to wear. Just my luck. I felt my face flush at the thought of having to ask one of the boys here to help me. _Maybe, if they're all gone from outside my room, I can find Konan._

A nervous smile found its way to my lips as I quietly slunk out of the bathroom and towards the other door. I pressed my ear to the wood and closed my eyes, trying to hear if there were still people fighting just on the other side. After a few moments of silence, and leaned back and went to reach for the door.

However, before my fingertips even grazed the knob, it flew open…

Reveling the ever darkening face of the Shark Man from the other night. _**Kisame. They **_**do**_** have names.**_ I couldn't move, let alone speak. As my own face began to flush, his eyes moved from my face to the rest of my body and back up again, stopping around my chest. I slowly diverted my eyes to the ground and cling tightly to my towel.

"I… don't have anything to change into…" I gave him a sideways glance and waited for him to respond. Instead, his brows narrowed and he reclosed the door. _**Breath.**_ I let out the air I didn't know I was holding and tried to compose myself. I swear the heat from my face could probably catch paper on fire.

"Rika," Konan's voice suddenly called out, "I'm coming in." I quickly took a few steps back and looked down at the floor again. She entered without a sound, and I didn't even know she was in front of me until she put a soft hand on my shoulder, making me jump slightly. "It's alright." She smiled and I looked up. "I'll have to buy some more clothing for you later, but, for now, I have something you can change into."

She handed me a pair of black shorts and a matching tank top; undies hidden between the two articles. I gave her a grateful smile and went to get dressed. That is, before she knelt down and placed her hand on my neck. My body froze, my blood ran cold, and I felt my heart practically stop. Her brows furrowed as her thumb gently ran across my collar bone. "How did you get this?" I followed her gaze and slowly formed a glare of my own, moving my towel to get a better look. From the center of the bone, and down towards my heart, laid a jagged scar. _Why didn't I notice that before? _That tingling sensation formed again at the base of my skull. Ignoring it,I looked back up at Konan and apologized.

"I don't remember that ever being there." She nodded once and stood back up, letting me go and motioning for me to get dressed. Once I was decent, I faced her yet again and smiled. "Thank you Konan-sempai." Her face darkened a little, but she returned my facial expression.

"You know," she reached inside of her cloak, "you look older than you really are," and pulled out the koi fish I had made with her last night. I quickly took it from her and began admiring it all over again. The room was quite for a while, and she moved over to my bed to sit down. I followed her and placed my origami fish on the nightstand.

"Sempai," I started as I sat down next to her, "why were there raised voices outside my door this morning?" She didn't look away, as I thought she would have. Instead, she gazed into my eyes and frowned. We stayed that way for a while; just looking at each other. Her eyes seemed to be able to look straight into my soul.

"You must be hungry." She kept her tone firm, yet soft. The image of my mother flashed in my mind and I tried not to cry. Not waiting for my response, she glided to the door. "I'll be right back." She stepped outside and once again left me to myself.

**AN:**

**Gah! I'm so sorry that it's been FOREVER! I've had some intense writers block, and my laptop keeps getting sick. Thank you soooooooo much for sticking with this story and not giving up on me (I'll understand if you did though). **

**I think I know now where I want to go with this story, but if any of you want to give me some ideas that'd be way awesome, too! ^^;**

**The next one will be longer! PROMISE!**

**Cookies and love to those who review! **


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